THIRTY-SEVENTH FESTIVAL FLAMENCO DE ALMERÍA

THIRTY-SEVENTH
FESTIVAL FLAMENCO DE ALMERÍA

Wednesday, August
27th, 2003.

Last night at the thirty-seventh
Festival Flamenco de Almería, Antonio Canales got the
audience of over 2000 to its feet.

«Almería is young at
heart, as ancient as she is» declared Canales before
his performance.

Rocío Segura of Almería
closed out an unforgettable night.

The young women singers Jennifer
Martínez, María José Pérez and
Mari Carmen Segura showed they're here in flamenco to stay.llegado
al mundo del flamenco para quedarse

The
closing night of the thirty-seventh Festival Flamenco de Almería
which was held last Wednesday night, August 27th, enjoyed
a good turnout with more than 2000 people, and reached the
highest artistic level with intense singing and magnificent
dancing from the charismatic Antonio Canales who sparked extraordinary
expectation in his return to Almería after several
years without appearing in the capital.

The output on the stage of the Plaza de la Constitución
connected perfectly with the audience which repeatedly got
to its feet to cheer the artists, especially Antonio Canales
and his group, where the young dancers Juan de Juan and Adela
Campallo were noteworthy.

Among those in attendance, there was a great variety of flamenco
fans with a large French presence, as well as Japanese and
other nationalities. There were also tourists from different
areas of Spain, but the biggest group was made up of Almería
natives of all ages who didn't want to miss out on the top-notch
show.

Antonio Canales

Shortly before his performance Antonio Canales said that
«Almería holds very positive memories for me.
I've come here often, have some good friends and tomorrow
I'm going to Aguadulce for lunch, a great place to eat. I've
been here with Tomatito, we've recorded programs for different
TV stations, etc., and all in all, I know the place well.
The most recent visits were to the fair, which I love, because
a great ambience gets going in the chiringuito. This is one
of the most beautiful fairs in Spain. And the last time I
was here I went to the bullfights where José Tomás
dedicated one to me».

Euphoria

The dancer spoke to the audience in Almería saying
that they're known to be «the coldest and most stoical
people, but it's not true. The most reserved perhaps, but
in the end, just as euphoric as any other. Every time I've
come here the audience has applauded like crazy and you see
this festival full every day, and with young people. Almería
is young at heart, as ancient as she is». Canales'
words gave a small idea of what was about to take place because
the audience was with him all the way and gave him several
ovations. He had set out «to leave everyone feeling
good after the closing night». Which was why he had
prepared «a show of very traditional, pure flamenco,
where the audience can see me up close». The veteran
dancer's appearance on stage rose the temperature even higher
than it already was. His amazing heelwork bit with Juan de
Juan with palmas accompaniment, percussion and guitars was
perhaps the most spectacular moment of this thirty-seventh
edition of the festival.

But Canales was just one of the main attractions of the evening.
The difficult task of closing out the festival fell upon Rocío
Segura. And she did so raising the standard very high for
next year, with a performance in which she dared to sing without
amplification and dedicated a song to her mother as well as
another to the people of Almería. The woman from Almería
seems more sure of herself on stage all the time and year
after year the experience of someone who started out very
young is combined with her innate ability,

Rocío Segura

Three young hopefuls

The opening of the night was the job of three young singers
who are taking their first steps in the world of flamenco
and with their appearance at the thirty-seventh Festival Flamenco
de Almería they demonstrated that they're here to stay.
Jennifer Martínez «La Niña del Puerto»
was up first, accompanied by El Niño de la Fragua,
followed by María José Pérez with the
guitar of El Niño de las Cuevas, and lastly Marí
Carmen Segura, Rocío's cousin, with Miguel Ochando
on guitar and Chico Fargas on percussion.

These women took advantage of the opportunity the festival
afforded to show off their wares in a flamenco framework.
They know that to pull it off in this place is a way of becoming
known and they were grateful to the Town Hall and other organizers
of the event for the chance to sing in their hometown. It
was nearly four hours of good flamenco and even then, some
would have stayed for more and were already hankering for
next year's edition. Three days with the most important stars
of flamenco singing, dance and guitar, and all greatly appreciated
by the audience each night. Almost four hours of show took
place nightly during this event organized by the Concejalía
de Cultura del Ayuntamiento de Almería.

Photos: Contraportada.

Monday, 25th august. Niño
Josele, Arcángel, Mayte Martin, Curro Piñana

Tuesday, 26th august. Carmen
Linares, Terremoto, La Macanita, Chocolate